KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
The EKWB Predator 280 ships in a classy-looking box with gold accents.
Inside, you get a proper manual which is very clear about how you install the AIO.
Along with that, all the necessary screws and mounting brackets are included.
Here we get a look at the Predator 280 itself. It is quite a large AIO, with the radiator measuring 43mm thick – and you need to add another 25mm to that to account for the fans. I would recommend you check your case's specifications before ordering one to make sure it will fit.
Speaking of fans, the Predator 280 uses EK's premium Vardar fans. These are designed specifically to push air through radiators – so they should be perfect here. They are also rated to spin at 1600rpm.
The CPU block is EK's Supremacy MX – not quite the top-of-the-line Supremacy EVO, but it should do the job just fine.
Also pictured above is the QDC fitting (on the right). For those who do not know, EK's QDC fittings allow you to add other components to the loop without having to drain the whole loop. To operate the QDC fitting, simply push down the white button on the fitting and pull the tubing apart.
Lastly, the bottom of the radiator features an integrated PWM hub, with one spare fan header. This hub requires one SATA power connector, and also needs to be connected to a 4-pin fan header on the motherboard.
Interesting cooler.
Can it run completely fanless in idle?
In theory I suppose so. However, at a low rpm the fans are really inaudible so it just feels a bit risky – if your CPU utilisation spikes without you knowing, it could overheat with the fans switched off
I’ve oc my 6800k 4GHz, after 3 hours of Gears of War 4, the maximum temperature was 49C. The Silverstone TD02-E was set at 65%, about 1600 rpm.
I like this design a bit more than the Switftech design for a semi open loop but I do wish the end reservoir was mounted in such a way that if you remove the fans, the front face of the radiator (side where the fans are normally mounted) would be flush with the res, I really would like a cooler like (so I can have some kind of loop) this in my Haf XB but given my graphics card is pretty long (it’s a triple fan Strix), this makes using a Switftech cooler or this cooler impossible unless the res with either unit could be remounted out of the way or was designed so that I can mount the radiator on one side, then the fans on the other side of a panel. Yes, I could go with an actual loop, but these semi open loops allow making one far cheaper, for cooling my graphics card, I just need to add 2 fittings, some tubing and a water block, which worst case would be $365 total